Method of making hollow valves



Nov- 2, 1948- J. E. CUNNINGHAM EI'AL METHOD OF MAKING HOLLOW VALVES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 IV q 1 6 6 I Filed Sept. 2. 1944 .EIAT C7 .5 Robert EJKem e John E. Cunnz'nykm Well.

Patented Nov. 2, i948 i i. :I- G HOLLOW VALVES 'EETOD F Ohio Application September 2, 1944, Serial No. 552,394

2 Glaims.

This invention relates to methods of making hollow poppet valves from metal slugs by extrusion and coining operations.

Specifically, the invention relates to methods of making hollow poppet valves from metal slugs or billets by extrusion and coining operations around mandrel inserts without extending the cavities of the valves through the tip ends of the valve stems.

According to this invention, a solid cylindrical metal slug or billet having a diameter less than the desired head diameter for the poppet valve to be made therefrom but greater'than the desired stem diameter for the poppet valve is placed in an extrusion die. A plunger orram having a cylindrical mandrel projecting therefrom is forced into the die for pushing the slug partially through the extrusion throat of the die. The mandrel initially contacts the slug to pierce a cylindrical recess therein. Continued piercing simultaneously forces the slug through the extrusion throat. so that the mandrel never projects completely through the slug, and the resulting pierced recess is a closed bottomed cylindrical The mandrel prevents collapsing of the well.

The extrusion die reduces the diameter of the slug to about the desired diameter for the poppet valve stem. Obviously, the resulting diameter may be somewhat oversize, to allow for finish machining and polishing operations. is not forced completely through the extrusion die so that the product of the die-pressing operation is a cylindrical hollow stem member with a head thereon. The head has a diameter less than the desired valve head diameter. After the first extrusion operation, the resulting product is placed in a coining die and acted on by a ram which either has an expanding hollow head-forming portion converging to a leading mandrel end which fits the hollow stem cavity, or a flat active face with a stem-fitting mandrel projecting therefrom. If the former ram is used, the head of the valve in the coining die is shaped and expanded into hollow valve head form. If the latter ram is used, the head of the valve member in the die is merely deformed and expanded into a solid valve head form.

After the coining operation, the valve body is heat-treated, cleaned, polished and filled with a coolant such as sodium. If a hollow head valve body has been made, the head is covered with a cap which is welded thereon preferably by projection welding. If a solid head valve is used, the stem cavity is sealed by means of a welded-in The slug 2 plug. Of course, machining operations can be carried out on the valve body to finish the body to exact desired dimensions.

The valves produced by the method of this invention have one-piece body members defining hollow valve stems and valve heads which can be hollow or solid. The stem cavity terminatesshort of the tip end of the stem so that the stem has a solid integral closed tip end.

It is, then, an object of the invention to provide an inexpensive method of forming hollow poppet valves adapted for internal combustion engine usage.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a method of forming hollow poppet valves exclusively by extruding and coining operations.

A still further object of the invention is to eliminate the heretofore necessary swaging operations in the production of hollow head poppet valves.

Astill further object of the invention is to extrude cylindrical metal billets having diameters intermediate the desired valve stem and valve head diameters partially through .an extrusion throat which reduces the billet to valve stem diameter size while carrying out the extrusion operation around an insert pin to create or maintain a cavity in the stem being extruded,

Another object of the invention is to partially extrude metal billets around a pin for forming a headed hollow stem member adapted to be shaped into finished poppet valve dimensions.

Another object of the invention is to eliminate the necessity for sealing pins, welded-on tips, nubbins, and the like on valve stems to close the valve stem cavity.

Other and further objects of the invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the annexed sheets of drawings which, by way of preferred example only, illustrates one embodiment of the invention.

- On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a solid cylindrical metal slug or billet from which the valves of this invention are made.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view, with a fragmentary part in side elevation, illustrating the start of the extruding operation on the slug of Figure 1 and showing the position of the slug in the extrusion die before the extrusion operation.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but illustrating the start of the piercing and extruding operations on the solid metal slug.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but illustrating a further advanced stage of the extruding and piercing operations.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but illustrating the completion of the extruding operation.

Figure 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view with a fragmentary part in side elevation illustrating the valve body from the extruding operation mounted in a coining die at the start of the coining operation.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but illustrating the position of the parts and the shape of the valve body at the completion of the coining operation.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure '7 but illustrating a diiferent type of coining punch for forming a solid valve head.

Figure 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the coined valve body of Figure 7, showing gritblast nozzles in elevation for removing scale from the valve body.

Figure 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a pickling tank illustrating the valve of Figure 9 immersed in the pickling bath.

Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 9 but illustrating polishing operations on the interior of the valve body.

Figure 12 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the finished valve made from the body of Figure 11.

As shown on the drawings:

In Figure 1 the reference numeral ll) designates generally a solid cylindrical metal slug or billet having a diameter D greater than the desired valve stem diameter but less than the desired valve head diameter and a length L materially less than the desired length of the valve. The billet I ll is composed of any desired valve metal capable of being extruded. A centering recess Illa is formed in one end face of the slug l0.

The slug III, as shown in Figure 2, is placed in an extruding die ll having a generally cylindrical recess Ila for a major portion of its length and converging at its lower end along a concave wall llb to a reduced-diameter outlet opening which mates with a secondary extruding ring l2 having a convexly curved throat l2a mating with the small end of the wall llb, and converging to a cylindrical stem-receiving hole I211.

The slug I ll snugly fits the cylindrical wall lla of the die H and, prior to the extruding operation, rests on the upper end of the wall llb.

An extruding ram or plunger l3 has a flat active end face i301 and a central projecting cylindrical mandrel l3b at the axial center of the active end I341. The ram has a cylindrical side wall l3c snugly fitting into the cylindrical portion of the die I I for sliding along the wall lla thereof.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the mandrel l3b initially acts on the upper end of the slug ID to pierce a hole lllb which is an extension of the initial recess or centering hole llla provided in the slug. The force of the mandrel l3b on the slug may start the extruding operation on the bottom end of the slug to form a somewhat reduced end I00. The active face l3a of the plun er or ram I3 is inactive during this piercing operation, and the extrusion occurs at a slower rate than the rate of piercing until the active face l3a acts on the slug. This extrusion operation during piercing forms a reduced-diameter solid end portion on the slug Ill having the same diameter as the hole MD of the extrusion ring [2.]

mandrel prevents collapsing of the pierced hole lllb. A hollow-valve stem lllb is thus formed.

As illustrated in Figure 5, the continued ex truding operation produces a greatly elongated stem portion llld from the slug It with the mandrel l3 extending further down through the, extrusion ring l2 and preventing collapse of the hollow stem. Figure 5 illustrates positions of the parts at the completion of the extruding operation and, as shown therein, the slug still has an unreduced diameter head portion lOe with a neck converging to the stem llld. The head llle has a hole therethrough maintained by the mandrel l3b. This hole is of the same diameter as the hole in the stem portion id. The head I lie has an average axial depth not appreciably less than the radial thickness thereof to provide sufficient metal for forming an enlarged valve head as hereinafter explained.

As illustrated in Figure 6, the extruded slug l0 with the stem lfld and head We is taken from the die of Figure 5 and placed in a coining die a M. This coining die l4 has a cylindrical hole Ma therethrough snugly receiving the stem portion llld together with an outwardly flaring convex throat portion Mb at the upper end of the portion Ma. The outwardly flaring portion l4b extends to an upwardly inclined fiat beveled portion ldc which terminates in an upstanding cylindrica'l rim wall l ld.

A plunger or ram l5 has a leading end with a cylindrical mandrel portion l5a adapted to snugly fit in the hole lllb of the formed slug. The mandrel l5a flares outwardly along a concave wall lib to a beveled shoulder l5c. The shoulder diverges outwardly to an upstanding cylindrical wall llid.

The head I lie of the formed slug is much smaller than the coining die-cavity, as illustrated in Figure 6.

The coining operation, as shown in Figure 7, forms from the extruded slug H), a valve body l6. This valve body l6 has an enlarged head with an upstanding cylindrical rim llia formed between the cylindrical die and ram surfaces Nd and 15d, a beveled seating face l6b formed between the die and ram surfaces I40 and l5c, a concavo-convex neck I60 formed between the die and plunger surfaces I41) and lib, and a cylindrical hollow stem lBd preserved by the coining die hole Ma and mandrel l5a. The stem lfid has a cylindrical cavity llie therein extending to a solid end l6f. The rounded end portion of the extruded slug piece can be cut off to form a flat bottom l 69' on the valve body IS.

The valve body l6, as shown in Figure 9 for example, thus has. a hollow stem cavity l6e closed at the bottom by an integral solid end portion lBf of the stem together with an enlarged head cavity "in open at the top thereof.

If desired, the extruded slug of Figure 5 can be placed into the coining die I! of Figure 8 and acted on by the plunger or ram l8 for producing a hollow stem but solid head valvebody l9 wherein the stem cavity extends through the head. As shown in Figure 8, the die I! has a head-forming cavity similar to the die M of Figure 7 but the ram or plunger I 8 does not have the expanding portion lSb of the plunger lb. The plunger I8 has a flat, active end face l8a with a central projecting cylindrical mandrel I811. The fiat face We of the plunger is effective to coin the head portion Ille of the slug into conformity with the die l'l while the mandrel l8b prevents the cavity "lb of the slug from collapsing during the coining operation. I

Figure 8 thus illustrates a modified coining operation to produce a solid head valve having the stem cavity hole extending therethrough.

The metal slug is heated to forging tempera= tures during the extruding and coiling operations and may have scale formed thereon. This scale is removed, as shown in Figure 9, from both the interior and exterior of the valve body l6 by means of grit blasts 20 projected against the interior and exterior surfaces of the valve body by means of nozzles 2! or other grit-impeiling devices.

The grit-blasting operation of Figure 9 is carried out on the entire valve body after the last heat treatment operation. In some instances, it may be desired to heat treat the body metal after the coining operation.

If additional cleaning of the metal is desired after the grit-blasting operation of Figure 9, the valve body It can be immersed in a pickling bath 22 in a tank 23 as shown in Figure 10. Since the interior cavities of the valve are fully open through the open top of the valve head, the pckling material can readily enter the valve cavities to clean the inside surfaces as well as the outside surfaces of the valve body.

As shown in Figure 11, the cleaned valve body it is preferably next subjected to a polishing treatment for removing scratches from the interior of the valve. These scratches frequently form loci for fatigue cracks inside the valve, resulting in rupture of the valve. For the polishing operation, abrasive material 2 3 is mounted on a tool shaft 25 which can be rotatably driven and all scratches are polished out of the cavities We and iii of the valve. Since the valve body is wide open at the top. removal of the scratches is facilitated. Heretofore the polishing operation had to be carried out through a small hole in the tip end of the valve stem. Polishing of an enlarged cavity such as 16h in the valve head was not possible heretofore.

The polished valve body It next has the cavity We and a part of the cavity IBh thereof filled with coolant C" (Figure 12) such as sodium. and a flat metal disk or cap 26 is welded to the upstanding rim I60, of the valve body around the entire periphery of the rim to form a weld line 21. The welding operation is preferably carried out by passing electric current through the pressed-together portions to simultaneously create the entire weld line 21 without heating the body metal except at the weld area,

The valve of Figure 12 is free from any weld lines, plug inserts, or the like separate parts at the tip end thereof. The cap or cover disk 26 for the valve, if desired, can be composed of cast, corrosion-resistant metal.

The coining and extruding operations for forming the valve body l6 preferably work the metal only in the direction of the metal grain bands, thereby eliminating exposure of grain band ends except at the stem tip and the rim lfia of the valve body. This rim i611. however. is covered by the cap 26. The seating face l6b of the valve head is thus formed entirely. by the sides of the metal grain bands, and is tough and resistant to corrosion.

From the above descriptions it should be understood that the invention provides methods for making hollow stem poppet valves or hollow head and stem poppet valves'from solid metal slugs by inexpensive, simple extruding and coining operations. The valves of this invention have onepiece bodies defining the entire valve stem, valve neck, and valve seat parts of the valve with either a small, welded-in plug or a welded-on cap closing the top end of thevalve.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. The method of making bodies for hollow stem and hollow head poppet valves from a flat faced solid cylindrical metal billet having a diameter intermediate the stem and head diameter of the valve which comprises piercing the central portion of the flat face of the solid billet to a depth inwardly from said face, simu1taneously extruding the opposite end of the billet at a much slower rate than the rate of piercing for positioning the piercing tool in the path of the extruding metal, terminating the piercing operation before the piercing tool penetrates the extruding end of the billet. continuing the extruding operation alone to extrude a portion of the billet only to valve stem diameter size while said piercing tool prevents the extruding metal from collapsing to maintain the pierced hole in the extruded valve stem, terminating the extruding operation materially short of the fiat faced pierced end of the billet and without deforming the flat face to maintain an end on the extruded member having the same diameter as the original billet and said end having .an average axial depth not appreciably less than the radial thickness thereof, coining said pierced non-extruded end of the billet between coining surfaces which shape said end into valve head size and shape, and simultaneously expanding the valve head to form an enlarged valve cavity bounded by an upstanding flat topped rim wall terminating at the original fiat face of the billet.

2. The method of making bodies for hollow poppet valves from a solid cylindrical metal billet having a diameter intermediate the stem and head diameter of the valve which comprises piercing the central portion of one end face of the solid billet to a depth inwardly from said one end face, simultaneously extruding the opposite face of the billet at a much slower rate than the rate of piercing for positioning the piercing tool in the path of the extruding metal, terminating the piercing operation before the piercing tool penetrates the extruding end of the billet, continuing the extruding operation alone to extrude a portion of the billet only to valve stem diameter size while said piercing tool prevents the extruding metal from collapsing to maintain the pierced hole in the extruded valve stem, terminating the extruding operation materially short of said one end face of the billet without substantially deforming said end face to maintain an end on the extruded member having the same 7 7 diameter as the original billet and said end having an average axial depth not appreciably less than the radial thickness, thereof, coining the non-extruded end of the billet between coining surfaces which shape said end into valve head size and shape to provide a valve head with an opening bounded by an upstanding rim wall having an end faee terminating in the original end face of said one end of the billet.

JOHN E. CUNNINGHAM. ROBERT A. KEMPE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

8 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Great Britain July 31, 1940 

